| History | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Owner |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | Wood, Skinner & Company Ltd.,Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Yard number | 197 |
| Launched | 16 August 1916 |
| Completed | January 1917 |
| Identification | UKofficial number 133590 |
| Fate | Wrecked onHaisbro Sands 6 August 1941 offNorfolk, England |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 2,684 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 321 ft (98 m) |
| Beam | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Installed power | Three cylindertriple-expansion engine |
| Propulsion | Screw propeller |
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h) |
| Crew | Captain Peard and 30 crew[1] |
| Notes | French collier but technically she was under a British flag when wrecked. |
SSGallois was a Frenchcollier built in 1917 asTynemouth and laterLord Aberconway. She was one of sevenmerchant vessels which became stranded and then wrecked onHaisbro Sands[2] off theNorfolk coast on 6 August 1941 during theSecond World War as part ofConvoy FS 559.
TheGallois was a steam merchant ship built in 1917 by Wood, Skinner & Company Ltd.,Newcastle upon Tyne,England.[3] She was 2,684 gross register tons (GRT) and 321 feet (98 m) long. Her yard number was No:197. She had been ordered by the Burnett Steam Ship Co. Ltd., (Burnett & Co) of Newcastle upon Tyne. Her original name was theTynemouth.[3] In 1929 she was sold to Tredegar Associated Collieries & Shipping Co. Ltd (A Capel & Co., Ltd.) ofCardiff,Wales. This company renamed herLord Aberconway.[3] In 1930 she was again sold to Établissenents Oden de Lubersac ofRouen, France, who renamed herGallois.[3] At the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939, the ship was requisitioned by theFrench navy as anauxiliary ship.[4] After theFall of France in June 1940Gallois escaped to Britain, was formally seized by the British government on 17 July on theThames, and registered in London. She was then placed under the control ofGeneral de Gaulle'sFree French Naval Forces.[4]
On 5 August 1941[3]Convoy FS 559 was proceeding down the East coast of Britain to London from Newcastle. The convoy was being escorted by twoRoyal Navy destroyers of theRosyth escort-force.HMS Vimiera[5] was aV-class destroyer built in 1917,[3] whilstHMS Wolsey[6] was of the Thorneycroft W class built a year later in 1918.[3] Also helping with the escort duties were twotrawlers,HMT Agate and HMTArkwright.[3] The night was drawing in as the convoy made its way down the coast and the weather was poor. There was a north-north west gale in full blow with rain. It was cold and visibility was poor. By the early hours and daylight of 6 August the convoy was enveloped in a thick sea mist making visibility very poor.[7]
There are two accounts[3] of what happened in the early hours of 6 August 1941. The first is that whenConvoy FS 559 was being passed by a northbound convoy. They had come under attack by GermanE-boats. The standing instruction for ships in convoy under these circumstances was to scatter in groups, each with their own Royal Navy escort. HMTAgate led her group away and had either lost all notion of her position or the channel buoys had moved. The convoy had been unable to see the Haisborough Light in the poor visibility which due to wartime restrictions was only illuminated for ten minutes when a convoy was due in the area. This had caused the lead escort difficulty in plotting their position. Soon seven of the vessels were stranded on the sands. The second version and the more likely cause of the ships running aground is that the bad weather conditions, and the strong westerly drift, and the fact that the exact position of the convoy was unavailable; the ships involved just ran aground.
TheCromer lifeboat had been alerted to the unfolding disaster out onHaisbro Sands at 8:00 am on 6 August.[7] The Cromer Number 1 boatH F Bailey put out at once withCoxswainHenry Blogg[8] in command.[8] The lifeboat arrived at Haisborough Sands at 9:40 am.[8] Above the lifeboat, the crew ofH F Bailey could hear the slow drone ofRAF aircraft sent to patrol above the stricken convoy.[8] As the lifeboat approached the sands, Blogg and his crew saw the seven big cargo vessels stranded with their backs broken. All that was visible was the ships'bridges as the sea broke across theirdecks. One of the escort destroyers had already begun rescue work[8] using one of herwhaler boats. The sea conditions the whaler came up against resulted in twelve of the seaman drowning by the time the lifeboat arrived.Before attending to theGallois, the lifeboat took 16 men to safety from the SSOxshott.[8] Coxswain Blogg then took theH F Bailey alongside theGallois. The steamer was still just above water and her engines were still running. Blogg held the lifeboat alongside the ship, head to the wind, while some of the crew jumped aboard and others slid down ropes. One of the crew fell into the sea but was hauled out by one of the lifeboat men, unharmed. In total theH F Bailey rescued 31 men[8] from the SSGallois which with the crew from theOxshott meant she was now carrying 47 rescued seamen. The lifeboat left the sands and transferred the rescued men to a nearby destroyer. TheH F Bailey then returned to the sands, her work not yet completed.[8]
Coxswain Henry Blogg and his crew were recognised for their bravery on the service to Convoy FS559 at an award ceremony held at the Regal Cinema in Hans Place, Cromer. The ceremony was attended by Vice AdmiralSir John Cunningham[8] and a large audience. Ironically the proceedings were interrupted by the lifeboat being called out to service. After a short while it was announced that the call-out had been cancelled and the ceremony continued. Henry Blogg received a second bar to hisRNLI Gold Medal[8] and was also awarded theBritish Empire Medal.[9] Jack Davis was awarded theRNLI silver medal, as did coxswain Charles Johnson of theGreat Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat.[8] Several other members of the Cromer crew were awarded RNLI bronze medals.[8]
52°54′N01°43′E / 52.900°N 1.717°E /52.900; 1.717
24.1 kilometres (15.0 mi) North ofHemsby
24.2 kilometres (15.0 mi) East-north east ofNorth Walsham
27.9 kilometres (17.3 mi) North ofCaister on Sea
28.2 kilometres (17.5 mi) East ofCromer
| The Rescue of theSS Gallois[10] | ||
|---|---|---|
| H. F. Bailey | ||
| Name | Rank | |
| Henry G Blogg | Coxswain | .JPG) |
| J J Davis Snr | Second Coxswain | |
| W T Davis | Bowman | |
| H W Davis | Mechanic | |
| W Davis | Assistant Mechanic | |
| Henry"shrimp" Davies | Signaller | .JPG) |
| Edward W"Boy Primo" Allen | Signaller | .JPG) |
| J R Davis | crew | |
| Robert"Skinback" Cox | crew |  |
| C Harrison | ||
| L Harrison | ||
| L Harrison | ||
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1941 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
